And So It Begins

 

'Twas four days after Thanksgiving, and all through the house, the leftovers were gone and Christmas officially began!"

I don't know what your Christmas tradition is like for when you start decorating the tree and the house, but in my family the pumpkin pie and coffee are still on the table when my youngest daughter herds up the rest of the family and starts hauling boxes down from the attic. Before the kids' heads have hit the pillow with tummies full of turkey and stuffing, the tree is up, most of the indoor decorations are placed around the house, and the foyer is stacked with the things that will be going outside (in fact this year a few of those found their way to the porch as well). In my daughter's house, once Santa comes down the street in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, it's official: The Christmas season is here!

My daughter was a December baby and that has played a huge part in her official capacity as "The Grand Dame of All Things Christmas." All three of her children, and now her grandson, know what it's like starting on Thanksgiving Day to live in a place that looks like Christmas Village, with the smell of cookies baking and seasonal music playing. Actually, she has had the music programmed into her car's radio since right after Halloween. As she says, you can never start too early.

As much as we tease her about being perpetually 5 years old when it comes to Christmas, there is something about watching the tree go up that touches the 5 year old in all of us. The last few years I have enjoyed putting up my tiny woodland tree, it's branches dusted with a snow-like substance and looking like it could be sitting in the middle of the woods, a Christmas tree for the critters. My daughter's is a full sized tree and she also opted for one with the look of a dusting of snow on the branches. They both remind me of the days when I was little and my Dad would bring the real, freshly cut tree home tied to the roof of his car. These days ours are artificial because, alas, the Christmas baby is allergic to pine trees. That does not stop her from turning her home into a woodland, Christmas delight.

This year I've even toyed with the idea of stringing dried berries and popcorn on my tree, to take it back to an older, gentler time, and only hanging the handmade ornaments. I don't want Christmas to be glitzy this year. This year, of all years, I want it to be simple, natural, and a reminder that one of the most important symbols of this holiday came out of nature. This symbol, the tree, touches all of our hearts regardless of how old we are. It is love, and hope, and wonder at what Mother Nature has created just for us. It makes a house a home. 

I'm holding off until next weekend to put up my tree so that my youngest granddaughter can take part and help old Grandma pull down the boxes and bags from the closet. Maybe we'll even make cookies and enjoy our church's livestream of the annual Christmas concert with a cup of hot chocolate in our hands as well. For sure the Christmas music will be playing ... and then we'll both be 5 again if only for a day.

And so it is.